June: 1,480 asylum seekers and following relatives

The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) registered 1,020 first asylum requests in June and 460 following family members, i.e. a small increase compared to May 2016, but a dramatic reduction compared to June 2015, when nearly 4,200 first asylum requests and following relatives were registered. As from April, the number of asylum seekers began to rise sharply in 2015.

Fewer asylum seekers in Q2 2016

In Q1 2016, the number of registered asylum seekers and following relatives was obviously higher than in the same period in 2015, whereas in Q2 the number of arrivals was in fact lower than in Q2 2015 and also lower than in Q2 2014.

Fewer adult men, more children

Over the first six months of this year, 45 percent of asylum seekers were adult men. In 2015, the rate was higher, varying between 54 and 62 percent per quarter, but in relative terms, there were more children among them: one-third of asylum seekers were under the age of eighteen.

The category of family members joining relatives already in the Netherlands mainly consisted of women and children. In the past quarters, 55 percent of joining family members were children, versus 65 percent in the first half of 2015. More than one-third of following relatives were women and one in ten were men.

Fewer asylum seekers and following relatives from Syria

In Q2 this year, 295 Syrian nationals submitted requests for, a reduction by nearly 80 percent from the same period last year and also lower than in Q1 2016. The number of joining relatives (750) was also lower.